Information Additional information on the Conservation Reserve Program Northern Bobwhite Quail Habitat Initiative is available at your local USDA Farm Service Agency office and on the FSA Web site at www.fsa.usda.gov.

Partners A wildlife conservation plan must be developed for this practice. Technical assistance to develop this plan should be provided early in the process by a qualified wildlife biologist. Technical assistance is available from the following sources:

Farm Service Agency, USDA www.fsa.usda.gov

Natural Resources Conservation Service www.nrcs.usda.gov

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission MyFWC.com

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, USDI www.fws.gov

A complete list of other eligible technical assistance providers can be found at www.techreg.usda.gov

This publication was developed by the Forest and Wildlife Research Center at Mississippi State University in cooperation with the NRCS.

Photographs by Wes Burger, Stephen Dinsmore, Fred Faulk,

Joe Mac Hudspeth, USDA-NRCS

Incentive Payments

✦Signing Incentive Payments of up to $100 per acre. ✦Producers will receive annual payments for the

length of the contract (10 years). The annual payment is a weighted average of the county rental rate for individual soils, plus practice maintenance ($5 per acre per year).

✦Cost-share assistance of up to 50 percent of the eligible reimbursable practice costs.

✦Practice Incentive Payments of up to 40 percent of the eligible establishment cost.

Sign-up Program sign-up will run on a continuous basis (meaning eligible land may be enrolled at any time) until the state’s 2,800 acres have been enrolled, or December 31, 2007, whichever comes first. Eligible acres are automatically accepted instead of being competitively ranked as in the general Conservation Reserve Program.

Habitat Initiative

Throughout their range, bobwhite populations have declined from an estimated 59 million birds in 1980 to about 20 million in 1999. Their habitats are disappearing due to urbanization, loss of native grasslands, intensive agriculture and a transitioning of once grassy fields into forests.

In late 2004, the United States Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency introduced a new conservation practice under the continuous Conservation Reserve Program intended to create 250,000 acres of habitat for the northern bobwhite quail in 35 states. The Northern Bobwhite Quail Habitat Initiative introduces a conservation practice of early successional native grass buffers along agricultural field margins.

Conservation Practice

This new conservation practice, CP 33: Habitat Buffers for Upland Birds, provides food and cover for bobwhite quail in cropland areas. The practice must be applied around field edges of eligible cropland. The practice includes establishing desirable vegetation through natural plant succession and/or planting approved food and cover for bobwhites. Plantings will be specified in the program participant’s approved USDA conservation plan.

Buffers long have been recognized for reducing soil erosion and protecting water quality by trapping sediments, nutrients and agrichemicals. In addition, research has demonstrated that grass buffers provide needed habitat for bobwhite quail and upland birds, as well as reptiles, amphibians and aquatic species. Many of these species are regionally declining and of conservation concern.

Eligibility The initiative is limited to 250,000 acres in 35 states with geographic areas that have the greatest potential to restore bobwhite quail. Of these 250,000 acres, Florida has been allocated 2,800 acres. To be eligible, cropland must be suitably located and adaptable to the establishment of bobwhite quail. In addition, the applicant must satisfy the basic eligibility and cropping history criteria for the Conservation Reserve Program. Cropland does not need to be classified as highly erodible but must have been cropped at least four out of six years (1996-2001). To determine individual eligibility for this practice, landowners should check with their local Farm Service Agency office. Wildlife biologists will help provide direct or indirect input in assisting with the development of a conservation plan that meets landowner wildlife objectives.

Reverse the Trend by Creating New Habitat

250,000 acres 35 states

Counties eligible for enrolling in CP33: Habitat Buffers for Upland Birds